It was on this date that I completed the 2,000 Mile Appalachian Trail at US Route 20 in Massachusetts.
Unfortunately, it was not on Katahdin, since the previous summer I started my trek on Springer in early June, too late to make it to Baxter State Park before the snow closed the mountain. So, my hike became a "Both Ends to the Middle," now called a flip-flop. It ended to be Both ends toward the middle, since I actually finished the middle on a couple trips in the spring of 1975.
It was a great trip. Unlike Bill Bryson, I could actually say "I had hiked the Appalachian Trail."
Here is the finished photo.
Notice the rain cover on my Trailwise Backpack. It was raining, of course, so I couldn't get a ride hitchhiking into Lee Massachusetts. I got my bus ticket at the local drug store, and the clerk, noticing my dirt, suggested I go across the street to the police station where I changed clothes to be a bit more presentable.
Here is the USGS topo map of the era (notice the road walking south of Goose Pond). I did not visit the cabin since it was on a side trail and US 20 was my goal.
Since 1975, I had returned several times to the area doing corridor monitoring, and swimming in the pond.
Wanna' read about the 2,000 mile backpack? Go to the Appalachian Trail Museum and get my book. All the money goes to the Museum.
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